But I don’t think I would put Czechoslovakia into a “least-noticed country” category, especially given its role in the lead-up to WWII and “peace in our time” by Prime Minister Chamberlain.
Heck, I also wouldn’t put the aforementioned Bangladesh and Philippines in that category, with 170 and 113 million inhabitants, respectively.
Agreed.
Quite a few baseball players from the former Netherlands Antillies I will put forward Andruw Jones of Curacao
Or how about Mark Cavendish from the Isle of Man possibly the greatest sprint cyclist of all time (equal most Tour de France stage wins with Eddie Merckx and likely to break the record this year)
Less famous isDylan Walker who plays rugby in the NRL but as the Pitcairn Islands has a population of under 50 it gets very little notice
My final nomination is Itte Detennamo an olypic weightlifter from Nauru
Henry Cavill is from the Bailiwick of Jersey in the Channel Islands.
FINLAND
Jouka Ahola – Strongman and actor
Martti Ahtisaari – Former President, diplomat, Nobel Peace Prize recipient
Jean Auel – Writer (Clan of the Cave Bear)
Renny Harlin – Film director
Aki and Mika Kaurismäki – Film directors
Paavo Nurmi (the “Flying Finn”) – Long distance runner (9 Gold Medals)
Eero Saarinen – Architect/designer, e.g., St. Louis Gateway Arch; the tulip chair (seen on ST: TOS)
Esa-Pekka Salonen - Conductor
Jean Sibelius – Composer
Linus Torvalds – Linux developer
Honorable mention:
Maila Nurmi (Finnish-American, not related to Paavo) – Vampira, first TV horror movie host
Also, a number of hockey players, skiers, race car drivers and heavy metal musicians whose names are probably familiar to those who follow those activities.
While we’re at it, there was also Ivan Lendl, around the same time, but I suspect Martina is more well remembered. Madeleine Albright. I’d probably go with Kafka overall.
Or, staying with tennis, Ivan Lendl? Although Martina’s probably better-known today than Hana Mandlíková.
Not sure how obscure Jamaica is, especially for Americans, but Usain Bolt is one of those rare track athletes well-known even by non-running fans.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is from Austria.
(I can only think of one other famous Austrian, but we don’t like to talk about that…)
What’s wrong with Mozart?
Franz Josef I, Marie Antoinette, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Maria, Admiral von Trapp, Hans Kelsen …
I said I could only think of one other famous Austrian.
And i had know idea who Vijay Singh is to you mentioned him.
With fans the answer probably will vary according to which sports they do and don’t follow.
The first person from Romania that comes to mind to me is ZAMFIR– "The Master of the Pan Flute
There’s Vlad the Impaler.
Usain Bolt is a big name, but I still think that Bob Marley is the most famous Jamaican.
FWIW, I was riffing on your “Well, there was that one guy…” joke.
He played James Bond’s Indian sidekick in Octopussy.
Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) has to be the only celebrity in the world from Monaco who is not a member of their royal family. It’s become a running joke among fans that he is constantly referred to as “the Monegasque” by race commentators - which is not some nickname, but the actual ethnonym for natives of Monaco - one that is so seldom ever used by anyone for anyone that Lerclerc is seemingly the only person on earth to whom it’s ever applied.
I think a couple of UN Secretaries-General qualify. U Thant from Myanmar (then Burma) and Kofi Annan from Ghana.